Page 23 of Bear Hunt

“Baby Girl, I don’t know much but I do know this: you ain’t goin’ nowhere. Fate put you in my path, so it’s my job to protect you.”

“Our job.” Mac chimes in with her customary stubborn streak we all got up-close and personal with last year.

“That’s right. This club protects what’s theirs, and whether you know it or not, you’re ours now.”

What I don’t say but think really fucking hard is that she’s mine now. All fucking mine.

Chapter Ten

Athena

“That’s right. This club protects what’s theirs, and whether you know it or not, you’re ours now.”

Now, I’m not usually someone who curses because A: I learned that lesson very early on and B: that’s whattheyalways did, and I don’t want to be anything like them, but…

“Ex-friggin’-scuse me?” That’s as close as I’ll get. For now. My back is straight, my eyes are wide, and my hands are clenched into tight balls. I’m proud of myself for not immediately cowering in this moment because the few times I did stand up for myself, it always came with consequences.

Consequences that are gonna find me again real soon if I stay.

I should get out of here. I didn’t escape only to belong to someone again—or multiple people.

The man who is making the whole running away thing really difficult nods in understanding, a sad smile that doesn’t reach his eyes crossing his face as if he’s just realized something.

“This is all coming out wrong. Will you sit? We really wanna help.” His pleading tone tugs at the butterflies in my stomach, but I don’t understand these people and their reasoning. They don’t even know me.

“Why?” The fact that he spoke about fate putting me in his path niggles at my core, and while I wait for an answer, I tentatively sit back down on the couch beside him, opposite Mac and Aleko or Psycho. I still don’t really know, their names are almost as confusing as their actions.

“I know you heard me, but I’ll say it again.” He smirks and my heart practically skips a beat because even though it’s a half smile, it’s more real than the sad one from before. “My mama always told me that I’d know when the one for me was ready. It’s scary but yeah, you’re ours. The thing is, we’re yours too. Works both ways here, Baby Girl. That means it’s my job to protect you, and to do that, I need to know what we’re looking at here.”

“Frick me, Bear, I didn’t know you could be such a romantic.” Psycho Aleko laughs his head off and Bear or Brock scowls at him—it’s difficult to decide which name I like best. They both suit him.

“Don’t be such a dick, Aleko.” Mac slaps the back of his head, which seems to be a recurring thing, and the deviant look he gives her in response just makes her giggle.

My mind is whirring with a thousand thoughts, all of them conflicting, and I’m struggling to form my words how I want them. This feeling of being free to speak, free to act in any way I want, is strangely liberating but scary as Hades.

The cries of a baby have Mac jumping from her seat in a millisecond, making my whole body freeze, preparing myself for what sudden movements usually result in, then she’s back moments later with the baby in her arms.

“This is Gryffin.”

I relax a little and remember that she told me all about her baby while we were shopping earlier. He’s much bigger than I imagined a four-month old baby would be.

But I’ve never been around kids or babies so I don’t really have anything to go on. I am curious though, because the smile he puts on both Mac and Psycho Aleko’s faces is clearly one reserved for parents. I look to Bear, who has remained silent, allowing me to process what he was saying, and he’s not paying attention to the new parents or their baby. His dark brown eyes are on me, his smile is for me… and I don’t know what to do with it except to smile back.

Considering where I am and who I’m with, by all rights, I should be in trouble here. This man is a stranger, he’s at least a head and shoulders taller than me, plus, I’m sitting on a couch in the middle of a bar, inside what is apparently an old psychiatric hospital.

If that doesn’t scream danger…

That’s the funny thing though. I feel safer beside Bear than I ever have in my entire life. It’s terrifying and I’m having a problem with trusting my own instincts. However, I’m aware I don’t exactly have street smarts, or any smarts really, so my instincts could be way off.

“Can I see him?” I don’t know if that’s the right question and I’m holding my breath for a response, but I’m also taking a page out of Paxton’s book and appearing to be unafraid to ask for what I want.

“Of course!” Mac shuffles forward out of Psycho Aleko’s hold, stands, and moves to sit beside me with the baby. “Here, do you wanna hold him?”

She holds him out for me, completely trusting in the fact that I’m a good person and won’t harm her baby, but my eyes widen uncontrollably and she giggles.

“It’s fine, you won’t break him.”

“No thank you. But he’s so cute. Looks a lot like his daddy.” I’m not lying, the baby really is very cute. His skin looks so soft and smooth and his bright little eyes are staring up at his mom without a care in the world. Exactly how it should be for a baby… kid… anyone really.

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